Russia accuses Ukraine of attacking Chongar Bridge. Gauleiter Saldo threatens to strike Odesa. Ukraine’s reaction

Kherson collaborator Volodymyr Saldo reported this.

"The criminal Kyiv regime carried out a barbaric shelling of civilian objects - bridges on the administrative border between the Kherson region and Crimea near Chongar," Saldo said. 

He also added that in this way Ukraine "wants to intimidate the residents of the Kherson region and create panic among the population."

He alleged that an English Storm Shadow missile was used in the attack, resulting in damage to the bridge's road surface. No casualties were reported among the people in the vicinity.

Later, Saldo made a threat to target bridges in the Odesa region. 

In a video published on his Telegram channel, the collaborator stated that he knows the coordinates of the bridges in the Moldavian Giurgiulesti area of the Odesa region, which were originally part of Ukraine but were transferred during the Yushchenko regime. “All the coordinates are known, so a serious response would be forthcoming soon,” he said. 

Sergey Aksyonov, the self-proclaimed leader of the peninsula, mentioned that explosives experts are currently examining the bridge to determine the type of ammunition used. Additionally, specialized services have initiated an examination of the road surface affected by the incident.

According to Russian media citing the Ministry of Transport of Crimea, transportation routes between Crimea and the Kherson region have been adjusted. 

“The Chongar bridge has suffered damage to its road surface, leading to a temporary rerouting of traffic through the Armyansk and Perekop checkpoints. These checkpoints are currently functioning normally,” the message said. 

Furthermore, it has been reported that regular buses that previously passed through the Dzhankoy checkpoint are now being redirected to the Armyansk checkpoint.

Ukraine’s reaction 

Serhiy Bratchuk, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian Volunteer Army "South," made a humorous remark suggesting that an earthquake might have caused the damage to the bridge. 

“There was an earthquake near Sevastopol - this is one version. Another possibility is that the bridge over Chongar is being demined in a way that is unfavorable for the occupiers. And the process of “de-Putinization” of Crimea, which is currently under temporary occupation, has begun, and this event could be seen as a continuation of that process,” he noted. 

Andriy Yusov, a Ukrainian Intelligence representative, stated that the work being done is part of the planned activities of the Defense Forces and partisans who are anticipating the return of Ukrainian authorities to Crimea. 

“We will analyze from a military point of view what is happening in the temporarily occupied territories after these territories are liberated. And now the work is ongoing, and it will continue. The activities involve ensuring security, defense, and resistance movement, with the local population eagerly awaiting the restoration of Ukrainian legitimate power in those territories. We can only comment on what will happen next," he said on Channel 24.

For reference:

The Chongar Bridge connects the Sivash Bay between Novooleksiiivka and Dzhankoi. In 2014, when Russia occupied Crimea, Ukraine decided to place mines on both the old and new bridges on their side.

On April 25, the Ukrainian Armed Forces' General Staff reported that the Chongar bridge was mined. However, the Ukrainian military faced a much larger opposing force, approximately 15 times stronger. Earlier, there were rumors circulating online that Chongar had been cleared of mines before the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

On the morning of June 19, a car carrying Zaporizhzhian Gauleiter Vladimir Yepifanov exploded on the temporarily occupied Crimean peninsula. His secretary and bodyguard were also there.